As I detailed in my previous post, we had an incredible Saturday in Mexico City that included walking through many of the parks, visiting the main plaza, and making a pilgrimage to the shrine of the nation, perhaps the holiest site in all of the Americas, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
When we arrived back to the hotel from the Basilica, we didn’t have a whole lot of “down time.” For me, it was a quick shower, a change, and maybe thirty minutes to upload my photos and write down some thoughts. (How else do you think I’m able to remember so much detail for my post-trip articles like this one?)
We made our way to Café Milou. This was another very small, boutique restaurant, with only enough space for our group. We were greeted by one of the owners, Isabella, who had become a friend of our friend Joe over the past year. They met each other in Mexico and then randomly ran into each other in Sweden of all places. Tonight, at Café Milou, we had many shared plates that were passed around, course after course. It was all delicious food paired with some more amazing wine – I believe some of the wine we had here was unique to this restaurant.
Later in the evening, we were even joined at our table by Christina Lecki. She is a famous chef in New York City, where she was the executive chef at the Reynard restaurant. She recently left her restaurant and New York City to move to Mexico City. She didn’t seem quite sure yet of her next career move, but she is taking some time to just get acquainted to Mexico City and the local scene. However, she did not come here blind; she has been here many times before, with many friends in the city. And, lo and behold, one of her new friends was our friend Joe, who met her some weeks or months ago and invited her to join us for the evening. I don’t know how much she knew about us or about our Teneo network, but when we left, she sent us off with some inspiring words to keep doing what we are doing and keep being passionate about what we are passionate about.
And, I should say a word about that. During our dinner on this evening, our table conversation was interrupted by Joe many times so we could each have the opportunity to share with the entire group some things we are working on in our personal and professional lives and how people around the table could help. This was a practice started on another Teneo trek. One thing I always like about people sharing their thoughts and ideas is that it opens up new possibilities. Several people at the table were met with challenging questions from others that helped them think deeper about how they can achieve their goals – maybe sooner than they thought. Others made instantaneous connections and there are already actions underway where one member of the group has already executed on helping at least one other member of the group. Our guest, Christina, was able to witness this first hand, which I think is what prompted her to send us off with her own inspirational words.
Once again, this fun dinner of fellowship went on much longer than any of us could have realized. It was nearing midnight and Joe was wanting to take us to a Mexican honkey-tonk bar. Most of the group went, with the exception of me, Chris, and Kari. We wanted some sleep. And most of the reason I turned in at this “early” hour of midnight was because five of us were planning to meet at 8:00 am to take a journey outside Mexico City into the mountains, where we could visit some mezcal distilleries as well as some Aztec ruins. By the time I made it back to the hotel, collected my thoughts from this amazing day, and went to bed, it was near 1am. But I was excited as ever to get outside the city and see what our Sunday Funday adventure was going to bring.
When morning came, Chad, Hillary, Joe, and I all met in the hotel lobby. Scott was down the street at another hotel and we all planned to meet at Café NIN, where we were picking up some breakfast to go. Joe had arranged a larger vehicle, a small shuttle bus, that could fit probably about 15 people if we needed it to. Well, three members of our group departed back to the States on Sunday morning. Four others were not interested in getting up early and going out of the city, for various reasons. And then the last member, Brittany (Scott’s wife) was still not feeling well enough to join, but she wanted Scott to go and continue to enjoy himself. So, he did.
While we were waiting for breakfast, Chad, who was uber-pumped for the day, started not feeling well. He decided he wasn’t going to venture out. His wife Hillary told him she’d stay in the city with him. He insisted that she go with us. So, she did too. At this point, that left just four of us: Scott, Hillary, Joe, and myself. While we felt terrible that Chad and Brittany were under the weather, we were pumped to get going on this Sunday adventure. It was now a little past 9:00am when we finally got on the road.
Our guide for the day was Alex, who works at the Amaya restaurant we ate at on our first night in Mexico City. Joe had befriended him some time back and he arranged for the shuttle bus. His father came with us, as did the driver’s wife. The ride outside the city was a bit bumpy at times. For the most part, they were nice paved roads, but there were lots of pot holes and just bumps along the way. However, we had the company of each other. On the way there, we engaged in more fellowship. We stopped at one rest stop where we had to pay five pesos (which is the equivalent of about 30 cents) to use a bathroom and be handed a few pieces of toilet paper if we needed it.
Nearly two hours from when we left Mexico City, we arrived at the quaint town of Pueblo Magico Malinalco. At the edge of one of the streets, you walk onto the grounds of some Aztec ruins. We climbed several hundred steps on a pathway up the mountainside to come upon an Aztec temple, a place where they sacrificed human beings. In one ritual we read about, they placed some of their top warriors in battle on the top of that temple with those they imprisoned there. Needless to say, it isn’t a fair fight and the prisoners are mutilated. Their remains are then sacrificed to the gods.
Later, when the Spanish arrived, they renamed the place San Miguel, after Saint Michael the Archangel. One interesting thing about the Spanish conquistadors of the sixteenth century: they were conquerors, but also Christianizers. They often built their own places of governance and worship on places already sacred to the Aztec people. They also recognized those places did have some spiritual importance, if not in reality, then at least to the Aztecs. As Joe explained to us through his interpretation: this place was a place of sorcery as well. St. Michael the Archangel was the angel who cast out the devil and evil spirits and so the Spanish, using his guidance and inspiration, hoped to do the same here and welcome in the tenets of Christianity, where sacrifice is not done of others, but for others.
We had some fun here, climbing up the steps of the temple that overlooked the valley and the town below. We then walked back into Pueblo Magico Malinalco. We perused the streets, with very colorful buildings, and then found our way to an outdoor market, where we picked up some street food, and then sat out in this garden on some blankets Joe brought with him in his backpack. It was very peaceful and serene. We then walked into the old church there on the property behind this garden. It was about 1:00pm and there was a very celebratory mass taking place in this beautiful setting.
Hillary found herself a nice hat in one of the shops, while I found my way to some ice cream – choosing the flavor: Beso Azteca. The ice cream tasted like it was kissed by someone, maybe the Aztecs, maybe the gods. We then climbed back aboard our shuttle bus, with a driver who was making some very impressive moves on some vary narrow streets with some sharp turns. We found our way out of town and onto some mountain roads. I’ve never pictured Mexico like this. Beautiful mountains and serene countryside.
We were now on our way to visit some mezcal distilleries. Mezcal is a specifically Mexican liquor, somewhat like a tequila. We had a little during our first few days in Mexico City, but now we were going to see how and where it was made. There are only eight small mezcal distilleries in these very mountains – and we went to two of them.
I guess when I first heard Joe ask us if we wanted to go to these distilleries, I was picturing something like some of the bourbon distilleries I’ve been to in Kentucky, or maybe the wine vineyards of the Napa Valley. These were nothing like those. First, there were no organized tours. You just looked for them and showed up. Alex and Joe had been to a few of these already, so it wasn’t like we were going to unfamiliar territory, but I think for Scott, Hillary, and myself, it was quite a wild adventure. They were run by families, on plots of land on the mountainside. And the way you find them: you look for the smoke burning from them, almost like a bonfire was going on there.
At the second distillery we visited, we were shown the small agave plants that sort of look like pineapples. At that place, they were very small. But at the first distillery, the remnants of their plants were very large, at their latest of stages. They were actually quite huge. The agave plants are burned, in several processes. They are then mixed with water and distilled into some containers. They go through this process at least twice. This is why we looked for the smoke to find the mezcal distilleries. I may be slightly getting some of the minor details of this process I just described slightly wrong, but observing the process was eye-opening.
The people that ran these distilleries were very humble, of modest means. They seemed just so happy to see some visitors like us. They gave us complimentary samples of mezcal and then had some bottles for sale. Joe and Scott bought some, but I didn’t check a bag and didn’t think going through all that at the airport was really worth buying some. They also allowed Joe to take some of the small agave plants back with him to Mexico City, which I believe he planned to give as gifts to some of the local chefs and bartenders he has befriended during his time here.
It was now about 4:30pm and it was well past time for us to head back to Mexico City. We thought we’d be back there by 3 or 4pm, but now it was appearing it was going to be around 6:45pm. We hit some unexpected traffic and slowdowns as we made our way over the mountains back into the city. We were luckily able to make one bathroom stop.
Alex had gotten a huge bottle (that he brought with him) filled with mezcal from one of the distilleries we visited. Joe had brought his Bluetooth speaker. So, we jammed a lot of songs from Joe’s phone, while drinking plenty of mezcal, trying to keep our friends back in Mexico City up-to-date on our later than planned arrival.
While it took us much longer to get back then expected, due to the crazy amount of traffic, this was an incredible bonding experience that you can ‘t plan for. And, luckily, we didn’t have any grumpy personalities. We were enjoying the continued fellowship that this trip kept delivering, despite some illness by two of our members’ spouses and despite the slow-moving traffic back into Mexico City.
As we pulled into our hotels in Mexico City, to drop our things, take showers, and make quick changes, the rest of our trekkers were gathering at a nearby bar for pre-dinner drinks. We all came back together at the Teoixtla restaurant. All 10 who were here through Sunday were now together again, even Brittany, who had been under the weather for the past 36 hours. Two couples had to turn in early as they had early flights, but the rest of us were there through the end of our meals and then the final six of us walked back home together. Joe, Chad, Hillary, and myself made one final stop back at Cicatriz Café for a night cap. By the time I walked back into my hotel room it was close to 11:30pm.
The next morning, I woke early to take some work calls and then joined Chad, Hillary, and Joe for brunch at Ojo de Agua restaurant. It was quite delicious and they also seemed to specialize in juices, including smoothies. Then, Chad and Hillary had to depart for the airport. Joe and I went back to the hotel, where I checked out and left my bags in his room. We took an Uber to a cool bookstore about a 10-minute drive away and then spent the final two hours hanging out at Budapest Café, where we enjoyed some tea and I was able to get a little work and some writing done – as well as taking another Monday conference call (I took four conference calls on this Monday!) It’s amazing how connected our world can be and what can be done in the remote work life.
And from that café, during my last hours in Mexico City, I wrote these final words:
This was an amazing Teneo Trek to Mexico City for an extended weekend with 13 awesome people! We came from Orlando, Nashville, Oakland, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, and DC. Plus, we were led by Joe, Teneo’s roving bandit. He did a masterful job in showing all of us this incredible city. We didn’t just visit landmarks, we met the people. We had private dining experiences in boutique restaurants with top artisan chefs; we had exclusive tours of hidden architectural gems like Casa Luis Barragon. A few of us went out to the mountains to see how mezcal is made at places that are about as opposite as Napa Valley is for wine vineyards. I don’t know how Joe does it, but he dives into communities like Mexico City quickly and makes friends with the locals, all to our benefit when we show up. Many on our trip are planners and doers and are accustomed to putting together our own vacations. Here, we just showed up, and Joe led the way.
I can say, as someone who had never previously been to Mexico City, that I feel like I really got to know this city over four days and nights and I can’t wait to come back. More importantly, we built a community across 7 chapters of Teneo members. Most of us didn’t know most of the other people on this trek before coming, but we are leaving with loose ties strengthened. There’s no better way to get to know people than traveling and trekking with them, through new experiences like mezcal tastings, art and architecture museums, or pilgrimages to holy sites like the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We are all looking forward to seeing each other and getting to know more deeply other Teneo members on future treks. We have an immense gratitude to Joe and all of Teneo for this experience of a lifetime. I look forward to seeing my fellow Trekkers around the country and continue to strengthen the bonds we made this weekend.
And then, as I was boarding the plane back to Orlando, I reflected even further on what this year of visiting three prominent Latin American countries has meant to me and wrote these words:
I’m reflecting on the great opportunities I’ve had this year to visit Guatemala, Peru, and now Mexico City. One of my few regrets in life has to be not coming to explore Latin America earlier. The history, the people, the food, the amazing natural wonders, and the fact that it is so inexpensive to visit these places compared to most other international destinations. Much of Latin America is accessible and close to the United States, especially from Florida. Part of me thinks I have actually visited these places at the right time, since I appreciate it so much more. But if I was 20 years old, I’d come here to live for six months or a year and perfect my Spanish and perhaps bear witness to the incredible faith, hard work ethic, and family values that the people here seem to share. What a year it has been and what an incredible way to cap off my 2019 visits to Latin America.